Looking at new printers

[Tom Slick]

I'm ready to replace my 6 year old HP PSC2175 all in one printer with a new model all in one. I'd prefer the new one to be wireles or at least network-able. budget is $200 or less, this HP has been good to me but I am open to other brand suggestions.

are the seperate color cartridges more cost effective than the tri-color?

[final_t]

Continuous Ink System

My solution (that I am using right now):

Epson R280 inkjet. $75 right now, got mine for $50 on sale.
Continuous Ink System for it. Price varies from $50 to $120. Refills are from $7 to $14 each color. FWIW, I'm still working on the initial fill and have full bottles and have run over three reams of paper through it. If you need links, I've got quite a bit. I paid $50.
Network print server. $40 to $100. Wireless: around $65. Mine is a wired Hawking, $30 years ago.

Total price range: $130 to $295. The cost savings per page compared to the outrageous printer ink is huge.

The biggest problem with this setup is the footprint. You need room to run the hoses from outside the printer and a place to put the inks, which *must* be at the proper level - otherwise you get no ink or it all runs out into the printer and then the floor.

If you don't want to go the CIS route, I would recommended the Cannon Pixma series and then get the compatible inks from Megatoners.com.

[jackellis]

We have two HP all-in-ones and a Lexmark laser. The HP G85 is old and no longer made. The HP 7600 is a nice machine that comes with built-in wired networking. Easy setup, separate cartridges for each color.

I hate absorbing the cost of inks and toners so I avoid printing like the plague, but the scanner is worth its weight in gold - I use it for documents and receipts all the time.

[drumpriest]

I'm digging the new Kodak printers, they use pigment instead of dye, much better light fastness and much cheaper refills. I've been using epson for a long time, and while they can work great, you have to use them a lot, or you are just throwing money out the window in terms of ink costs.

[stormdog74]

I've been thinking about the new Kodak ones myself as it is getting too painful to buy new ink cartridges. I would like to see them around a bit more before taking the plunge. Anyone else have experience with them?

[Uncle Cracker]

Look at the Brother MFC6490CW inkjet all-in-one. It has an amazing price point for all it offers, and does 11x17 printing and scans, to boot! I got one about a month ago, and I love it.

[thrytis]

I have the HP C6180 which has has wired/wireless/bluetooth capability. I've been happy with it, and i love having the document feeder for faxes and copying multiple pages. HP was the only brand i looked at since it has full Linux support. If it didn't have multiple ink tanks, i know i would have been throwing away a lot of ink since some colors are used more than others. I think the current version of that one is C7280.

If you really want to save money on your printing costs and need color capability, get your inkjet all-in-one and then a cheap laser printer to use when you don't need color prints. You can get laser printers pretty cheap now (under $50 for a good deal). In 12 years, i've only replaced my toner cartridge in my primary printer twice, the second time being less than a month ago.

[Hellrazor]

Check ink prices before you buy anything. My HP C7250 all-in-one just cost me over $100 for ink. 1 of each color and 2 black.

[JackAZ]

Printer Suggestion

Just FWIW, My wife and I recently went for the Canon MX850. wired network All In One. Canon because I've lately been looking carefully at several of their products and am coming to the conclusion that they have one of the best QA/QC reps and that its well deserved.

We have been more than happy with this one; sure the ink carts are not the cheapest but with a little judicious shopping can be had reasonably and they do not go too fast. Initial cost can also be driven down with some careful searching (online of course, I'm too old to enjoy doing it the hard way anymore).

The uhit does a great job on graphics and on photos and is quick for a multi-use machine.

[radhak]

If I were to be choosing today knowing what I know, I'd look for a nice laser printer, even an all-in-one. The idea of a LP for general printing and and inkjet for the special colored printing is pretty good too.

I bought my Canon MP530 from BJs a year ago. We print sparingly, so the cartridges go for around 6 months.

Canons nowadays have cartridges with computer chips, so you cannot DIY-refill. So you are at the mercy of online shops and their offerings - original (canon) replacements for around $50 a set, or 'compatible' replacements without chip (ie, they provide instructions to transfer the chip from your older to the replacement cartridges) for around $20 a set, or 'compatible' replacements with chip for around $30 a set.

I have heard complaints that not all non-oem cartridges work. I been lucky : ocinkjet.com has given me good, worry-free replacements for acceptable prices.

Quality wise, I like the printer. The one grouse is that if the fax line is plugged in and the printer is on (ie, the fax line is live), then incoming calls get diverted to the 'fax' after a couple of rings. Very irritating, but there might be a setting I missed. Of course we don't need a fax line all the time, ymmv.

[aggrex]

I'm ready to replace my 6 year old HP PSC2175 all in one printer with a new model all in one. I'd prefer the new one to be wireles or at least network-able. budget is $200 or less, this HP has been good to me but I am open to other brand suggestions.

are the seperate color cartridges more cost effective than the tri-color?

I made the conversion from inkjet to laser a few years ago and have not regretted it a bit. I purchased my HP laser all-in-one $200 AR and Samsung laser printer $25 AR. No more expensive 2 to 5 mL ink cartriges that tend to clog or simply dry up.
For color I am waiting for the price of the Xerox Phaser 8560 to come down because the color prints are time magazine quality. The phaser uses solid ink that are pricey but won't dry out and seems to last reasonably at work.

[maxparot]

I just bought 2 printers a few weeks ago.
For large scale color photo prints I bought a Epson Photo 1400 and a continous ink system to fit it with.
For general office duties I went with a laser.
My choice was a Lexmark C543 color laser auto duplex printer with network connection. It does a great job even for quick photos on plain paper. How I went this long without a printer that handle 2 sided printing is beyond me.